So we are reduced to the bizarre spectacle of a president of the United States, beginning his tenure with supermajorities in both houses of Congress and a 70% approval rating, now blaming conservatives that they are stopping the completion of his agenda that his party won’t defend and won’t run on — while the architects of his economic policies have left town ahead of the proverbial posse. Obama made us do it!

We know there is only one way to restart the economy and spur private enterprise to begin hiring: remove uncertainty and win trust.

That would mean to spell out exactly what the income, payroll, inheritance, and health care tax rates will be. Repeal ObamaCare and its feared drag on employers; stop all the new programs and instead prune red-tape; enact targeted tax cuts for employers coupled with reductions in federal spending; offer a five-year plan to achieve budget surpluses; bring into administration financial policy-making business people and expel academics; quit the psychological harassment of “boot on the neck” slurs, limb-lopping surgeons, and greedy businesses, and stop the presidential “at some point you’ve made enough money” editorializing. Do all that — and Obama cannot and will not — and employers will start taking risks, hiring, and buying.

It gets stranger still…

Obama, we are told, is becoming unpopular with his liberal base, as we saw from his acrimonious CNBC town-hall meeting. In this trope, he has not gone far enough to please the Huffington Post and Daily Kos crowd. Instead, he sold out by adopting the Bush national security policies from Guantanamo to Predators, by appointing some centrists like Sec. Gates and National Security Advisor Jones, and by not granting amnesty, not ending “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and not shutting down Guantanamo.

But this too is disingenuous. Note that the now liberal counterpart of Joe the Plumber, Velma Hart, was not faulting Obama for being too liberal in raising taxes, scaring small business, or piling on debt. She was largely opportunistically piling on Obama’s growing unpopularity, in apparent anger that he had not been liberal enough in enacting her longed-hoped-for-hope and change, spread the wealth largess that was supposed to ensure her a booming economy.

His base supporters are griping largely because Obama is tanking and taking a liberal Congress down with him, and therefore construct a homeopathic exegesis of wanting more bacteria to end a bacterial infection. If Obama is too liberal for the country, therefore the medicine is that he is not liberal enough and must adopt even more progressive policies.

That is a cheap way of avoiding two painful realities: one, the liberal agenda is not popular; two, it does not seem to work in a post-modern, globalized, and largely therapeutic America. The problem is not that Obama did not give us enough of it, but that he gave us too high deficits, rising debt, Keynesian stimuli, government takeovers, race/class/gender editorializing, identity polarizing politics, UN-neutrality abroad, and ridiculous appointments like Van Jones and Anita Dunn.

So what’s next?

The Problem. Obama succeeded in getting elected where other Northern liberals like McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis, and Kerry had failed because of a perfect storm of events: the novelty of our first African-American serious presidential candidate; Obama’s teleprompted rhetorical gifts and charisma; Obama’s misleading moderate and centrist proclamations; the inept McCain campaign; the September 2008 meltdown; Bush’s Iraq; and the first orphaned election without an incumbent since 1952. Take any of those criteria away, and he would probably have lost.

But instead of accepting that flukish reality, in hubristic fashion Obama either figured his singular divine powers won us over or a national yearning for neo-socialism had spread among a majority of Americans — or probably both.

So rather than being a Clinton in 1995 and moving to the center, curbing debt, working with centrist congressional Democrats, or praising the opposition in the no more red/blue state fashion of yesteryear, he went the hard left route and quickly alienated the country.

The Solution. We are now told there is a Carter/Clinton choice for the president: persist in Carterism and 2012 follows the losses of 2010. Or change, and get reelected on some updated form of school uniforms, space exploration, more cops, an end to big government, no more welfare, balanced budgets, or a Republican shut-down of government.

But the latter would require Obama to be Clinton, and quite simply he is not — either by skill, experience, temperament, or volition. He is petulant and angry at us for not appreciating his genius and divinity. We in the 70% who oppose his sermons are the proverbial Pennsylvania clingers who can’t figure out Ground Zero, Arizona, or the Skip Gates mess. We forgot we killed thousands at Hiroshima, killed off native Americans, and were mean to Muslims. We are a nation of greedy fats cats on the wrong side of the new $250,000 Mason-Dixon income divide.

A savior like Obama comes around once in a century. If we cannot see that we are blessed with a Mandela-like laureate, then let us lose our souls. We shall sink into reactionary irrelevance; he shall trump the Bill Clinton lucrative post-presidency.

Sort of at least. He will also for the next thirty years parrot a Carter on 60 Minutes assuring us how awful were his successors, how brilliant his unappreciated record was, and how illiberal and dense we remain — as he jets from Indonesia to Paris on missions of world peace from a corporate and Middle East funded Obama Peace Center.

The Prognosis. There is only one mystery left. Will the Republicans screw it up? Or do they have the courage and skill to tell the American people that the mega-deficits and entitlements are our road to serfdom? Or, in contrast, will they return to 2004-6 and gorge the beast while talking of how it could be much worse without them?

138 Comments, 69 Threads

1.
Spinoneone

Dr. Hanson, your last line is the scariest of all. Why? Well, for example, the 21 PAGE idiocy just published by the GOP as to what they want to do over the next two or three years. 21 PAGES??!! How about 21 sentences, and short ones at that? Or, follow “Red State’s” example and put the Constitution in bold highlights and say this is what we are running on and what we will do?

It is past time to compromise with the Dems. It is past time to compromise with the RINOs and elites in the GOP. It is time to take back the party and run on principle, not expediency. It is time for the Tea Party to absorb and discipline the Republicans who want status quo ante. Change? Yeah, we need change. Hope? I could do with some of that, too. To do that we have to terminate the sense of entitlement that permeates the entrenched elites on both sides of the aisle.

Spin, I’m not sure what “idiocy” you are talking about. Could you help me out by noting some of the remarks in the Repub document that are idiotic. I sort of get your point about 21 pages, but look at the present oath of office for the Congress. The oath is clear and simple, but the libruls violate it without notice on almost a daily basis. At least with a few specifics it would might be a bit easier to hold elected officials accountable.

Spin and Fred,
The 21 page pledge doesn’t go far enough. I demand that the power of all three branches of the federal government be trimmed back and I will accept nothing less. I am sick to death of congressionally imposed socialism and the tyrany of the courts that continuously erode liberty. The time has come to amend the Constitution so that federal power is permanently restricted.

I don’t trust the Republicans with power any more than I do the Democrats. Look at what Bush and his accomplices did with No Child Left behind and the new Medicare entitlement. These clowns are bankrupting us as they take away our freedom.

I want an Article 5 convention and I want it as soon as the Republicans take back Congress. Let the city states send their marxist representatives to the convention. They will be in a minority and will be outvoted. The public is finished with Keynesianism and is in an ugly mood about excess coming from Washington. The time has come for responsible tax payers to take back the government and restrict it’s power and ambition. If we don’t act now, this republic will soon be finished.

So far as I can see the Pledge goes hardly anywhere at all. I think everything we need to know about the Pledge is on Page 21, where they promise to “put common-sense limits on the growth of government”. No, they don’t Pledge to reduce the size of government, they’ll just let it grow slower than the Democrats might like. Add up the numbers they provide on that same page and it appears they propose to slash the unsustainable $1.4 trillion per year deficit, reducing it to an unsustainable $1.1 trillion per year. We’ll still go broke under Republican leadership, just a little slower.

And that’s if they follow through at all. They forgot the most important clause of the whole Pledge, the last paragraph where they say “and we really, really mean it this time”. Because we’ve heard all this before. They didn’t keep their Contract, why should we believe they’ll keep this Pledge? Especially since it comes as something of a death bed conversion and I get the feeling they’ve got their fingers crossed.

If this is the best the Republican leadership can do we’ve got a lot of house-cleaning left to be done in the next few election cycles.

“The 21 page pledge doesn’t go far enough. I demand that the power of all three branches of the federal government be trimmed back and I will accept nothing less. I am sick to death of congressionally imposed socialism and the tyrany of the courts that continuously erode liberty. The time has come to amend the Constitution so that federal power is permanently restricted…The public is finished with Keynesianism and is in an ugly mood about excess coming from Washington. The time has come for responsible tax payers to take back the government and restrict it’s power and ambition. If we don’t act now, this republic will soon be finished.”

Bravo for you, Samizdat. I’m with you. The GOP are acting timid at the time when pricipled, bold leadership is essential. The hour of crisis is upon us, and like the Democrats, the GOP want to fiddle while Rome burns. There isn’t much time left in which to take action; some economic observers already believe that it is inevitable that the USA will default on its debt, if not openly (the way it should be done) then by monetizing the debt via inflation. If they fail, there will be enough tar-and-feathers (or worse) for all of them, Democrats and GOP alike.

Considering the several thousand page dem health care bill, having 21 pages, for the entire repub congressional agenda for the next 2 years is a model of brevity. Your idea that they should just say “follow the constitution” is crazy. That type of statement is meaningless pap without details. I am glad the repubs were willing to explicitly state the details in their 21 pages. It will make it much harder for them to wriggle out of it.

I became involved in politics, actively involved, just this year. I ran for and was elected a precinct delegate and was also elected to attend the state convention as an alternate. I intend to stay involved the rest of my life. My biggest regret is that it took me so long.

UncleFred said it better than I could: “The environment of DC, or of any capital of a large state, is optimized to strip a politician away from the views of their electorate and toward rewarding those that derive sustenance from government spending. The ONLY way to counter this is an active and engaged electorate and a commitment to primary any incumbent who forgets why they are there. Term limits, while I agree with them, are a bandaid for an electorate who does not want to have to spend the time to keep their elected officials in line.”

We must stay vigilant and guard our liberties with every fiber of our being and EXPECT opposition from BOTH Republicans and Democrats. They are not going to take losing their power laying down. This will be a long fight but we will win if we are willing, as the Founders were, to dedicate ‘our lives, our fortunes, and our Sacred Honor’ to the return of the Constitution of the United Stated to its rightful place and return to the rule of its law.

Term limits are a band-aid, yes. But until the House limit of 435 members is removed and we return to a truly representative government, with a Madison ideal of one representative per 30-40,000 citizens, we will continue to see the elitism that results from one person attempting to gauge and act on the interests of far too many people (or in many cases, act on the interest of whoever has enough money to gain an audience with said representative). In addition we need to end the popular election of senators and return that body to its original intent, as a defender of states’ rights.

We are not being represented in government at this time, we are being ruled.

The only oath they really need to take is the one that officeholders are already Constitutionally bound to take: an oath to uphold the Constitution.

They must repeal all laws and void all regulations that lack clear and undisputable Constitutional justification.

They must de-fund and to dismantle all governmental agencies that lack clear and undisputable Constitutional justification.

They must impeach and remove anybody in the government who has failed to abide by his or her oath to uphold the Constitution.

No cheating by twisting the wording of the Constitution to something that it does not mean. No stretching for loopholes. No doing what you, in your less-than-infinite wisdom, suppose is right and “letting the law catch up.”

I agree with your assessment of Hanson’s commentary, particularly the last paragraph. I, too, felt a wave of anxiety when I read it. Sadly, it confirmed my own reservations about the GOP. Those of us who voted for McCain question whether the Republican agenda can make the difference. I’ve seen Karl Rove and Dick Morris speak here in Colorado in the last couple weeks. These men are making an enormous difference. They’re funding many of the GOP congressional candidates. Question is: will the Republicans rise to the occasion once the congressional composition changes. Their pledge, as you point out, is long and doesn’t address properly the powerful issues that our public demands. Apparently, Hanson too, has the same questions. You mention the tea party keeping the Republicans on task. Not certain I understand the breadth of the Tea Party’s power. Can you shed some light on that. I read Noonan’s “Declarions” commentary last week which ‘declared’ her belief in the Tea Party’s clout. Just not certain how it will manifest and if it has enough power to keep the Republican party productive. My e-mail is elainesandler@aol.com. Thanks much.

I agree with your assessment of Hanson’s commentary, particularly the last paragraph. I, too, felt a wave of anxiety when I read it. Sadly, it confirmed my own reservations about the GOP. Those of us who voted for McCain question whether the Republican agenda can make the difference. I’ve seen Karl Rove and Dick Morris speak here in Colorado in the last couple weeks. These men are making an enormous difference. They’re funding many of the GOP congressional candidates. Question is: will the Republicans rise to the occasion once the congressional composition changes. Their pledge, as you point out, is long and doesn’t address properly the powerful issues that our public demands. Apparently, Hanson too, has the same questions. You mention the tea party keeping the Republicans on task. Not certain I understand the breadth of the Tea Party’s power. Can you shed some light on that. I read Noonan’s “Declarations” commentary last week which ‘declared’ her belief in the Tea Party’s clout. Just not certain how it will manifest and if it has enough power to keep the Republican party productive.

When seeing the footage of Obama doing “the Mexicans were living here long before the US was even an idea”, I actually thought that he was drunk. Of alcohol that is. I now think it was more like an alcoholist relapsing. But in his case he was back in front of an audience that cheered. He hadn’t enjoyed that pleasure for some time. He got light in the head from it.
His meaning in life is public adoration, he is not getting any nowadays, except from special interest groups that don’t care if he talks nonsense as long as picks up their tap. Narcissus is doomed

As usual Professor Hanson’s analysis is right on the nose. I live in northwest Ohio and none of the Democrats running for state office or Congress seem to have ever heard of Mr. Obama. All of the ads for Ted Strickland and Lee Fisher are totally negative and hysterically try to link John Kasich and Rob Portman with “sending Ohio jobs overseas” from the days when the latter two were respectively in Congress and U.S. Trade Representative. The Dems are trying like hell to link Kasich and Portman with G.W. Bush but even that trope isn’t landing. None of these broadsides contains as much as a passing reference to the existence of President Obama or his policies.

A successful local businessman is challenging our fourteen-term (Democrat) congresswoman who is basically a sock puppet for the Ohio UAW. None of her commercials even hint about her votes for Obamacare, the “stimulus” package and every other tax-and-spend proposal that the White House has cooked up over the last twenty months. Instead her ads ONLY talk about how her opponent laid off employees during the days he was operating his business. (By the way – She will be reelected handily despite the fact that her district is experiencing about 14% unemployment and is considered a radioactive kill zone by prospective employers and new business. It’s that kind of district.)

However Dr. Hanson is quite right – Are the Republicans smart enough to capitalize on this? I wouldn’t bet my pension on it. Kasich and Portman aren’t running particularly strong campaigns. Nationally the RINO element is very strong as seen by the petulant performances of Gov. Crist in Florida and Ms. Murkowski in Alaska. Most important is the fact that Democrats regard politics as a form of warfare (to invert Clausewitz)and will do literally ANYTHING to win. The GOP can rarely summon up the same fire in the belly. Too many Republicans are still afraid to stand for conservative principles lest they get whacked by the likes of Olberman, Stewart, Colbert, Maddow and the rest of the snark pack.

I suppose that was what I miss most about Ronald Reagan. When he was called “a fossil”, “a dinosaur” and “hopelessly out of touch” he just smiled, stuck by his guns let them have it. The Lord hates a coward and Reagan had real political courage. That’s as rare as an ice machine in hell these days.

“That kind of district?” Everyone thought MA was that kind of state. I campaigned for Scott Brown last January through working class suburbs. We were not allowed to go into people’s houses. It was amazing how many people WHISPERED to us on their front steps,in the freezing rain, looking up and down the streets, that they were union members. We heard that the union bosses were telling them to vote DEM, but they had HAD it with the Dems and their tax policy, etc. There was so much passion there. You might be surprised. 14% unemployment has a funny way of concentrating people’s minds…. Let’s hope!

Any objective observer looking back will conclude that we handed the country over to malicious clowns. From first to last, the worst collection of grubby, fraudulent lowlifes to have held their hallowed offices. In fact it’s accurate to say that Obama, Biden, Axelrod, Holder, Sebellius, Billary, Napolitano, Holdren, Reid etc. ad nauseam, have not so much abused their offices, as defiled them. It will take a lot of work to reverse the effects of their demented romp through our nation’s institutions.. Having been elected, they have in effect attempted to ‘seize the apparatus of the state’ in order to carry out a colossal transfer of (our) wealth and freedom into the hands of their paymasters. Is this treason? Sedition? Is there a name for it…?

Incompetence, ignorance, ideological blindness don’t account for it alone. As others here have observed, there is a specific intent to break America. That is, to cause us to falter, to cease being the lone outpost of individual dynamism in the world so that eventually the global state can hold sway over all. Even many within the GOP see it now. And as the wise and good Doctor says, if those who gave us ther pledge yesterday hold true, November will be the beginning of the end for this sorry lot; these dregs of the sixties’ most fevered visions.

The smarter Dems are distancing themselves from this sorry bunch now. They are wise to do so for a giant is stirring, and he (or is it a she?) is angry. The rest still scurry about like the rats they are, trying desperately to find a crevice to burrow into to ride out the storm (some even appear to reside on the Right – Crist et al). Good, it makes them easier to recognize. As long as they keep seeing this as another round of ‘politics as usual’ (albeit with higher stakes) the better. November augurs not just a transfer of power, but the beginning of a top to bottom sweep of our governing institutions. There will be a tallying, and a reckoning. And woe to those found to have abused our trust. It doesn’t end with government though, or the reversal of the Obama agenda (and any other policy that our reason tells us is unfair, too costly or too hostile to liberty). The pathetic, ranting puppets in the media and academia have to be exposed as well. Let the light of truth shine on the book of their deeds so that the people can judge them. And let their ideas be laid out deliberately, end to end so that all may know that they are founded on illusion delusion and deception. That means that our elected officials, starting in January and continuing forever… have to not only make the case for freedom, democracy and capitalism openly, clearly and consistently – but to trust us with the truth, (and we then owe it to them not to punish them for being truthful, it’s a two way street.) It’s one thing to be wrong, being corrupt is another animal altogether. Above all we must WIN in November, and again in 2012, for the nation may not survive the uprising that will follow if we don’t. Let that be our driving purpose in the coming weeks, and then the months after that. Then, having won, we must carefully teach our children what happened, and how a smiling face nearly made them slaves.

God Bless Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, Chris Christie, John Bolton, Darryl Issa, Christine O’Donell (my favorite teenage witch) and the many other established politicians who took a stand for freedom. And long live the Tea Party!

I think the biggest mistake we could make is to make Newt Gingrich the GOP candidate for president. I don’t trust his character, and am suspicious why is he suddenly so visible?

Remember that McCain was foisted upon us by a leftist media, cheered on by liberals knowing he couldn’t win against “The Won We Have Been Waiting For.”

Ann Coulter got it right when she said we let (leftists) choose (the 2008) candidate for us. Take a look at the too-familiar faces in Washington, and keep them from taking over from real Tea Party candidates like the others you mention. Lets try real Change We Can Believe In, and give conservative newbies the nod this time around.

The passion and energy of new blood mixed with the perspective of experience is what will steer us out of this mess. So far, the Tea Party and the GOP have been meshing fairly nicely, minus a few bumps here and there. I think both realize they can both do more together. And the tension between them seems to be a healthy one. This bodes well for both, and for the country too.

Light of truth on the “book of their deeds?” My, what pompous prose! Reckoning?

Get over your self please. The Tea Party does not represent the average American. Republicans will make some expected gains in November but you will never see the kind of takeover you are talking about.

Republicans offer no coherent alternatives. The Pledge to America is a joke, simply a rehash of proven failed policies with nothing of substance to add.

The list of people at the end of your post is the list of people I plan on keeping as far away from any seat of power as I can. I will mobilize and shine some light of my own. These people are collectively as useful as a broken nail. Every one of them. Corporatists, religious panderers, do-nothings and narcissists all.

Nate, Nate, Nate. You need to grow up, move out of mom’s basement, and get a job. Oh yeah, thanks to obama, there aren’t many jobs for young people any more. That should tell you something about who you should be staying away from.

Never, I say again, never underestimate the ability of the GOP to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory… usually because they try to emulate the other party rather than standing up for what should be their own conservative principles.

Yeah, I hear you loud and clear. Somehow McConnell and Boehner don’t instill a lot of confidence in this conservative, given their past. And we don’t even want to start talking about Snowe, McCain, Collins, Voinivich, and other RINOs. They will block most conservative attempts at an agenda as put forth in this new Pledge that is circulating.

By the way, does anyone know who is actually making this Pledge? I mean who, if anyone, has actually signed it, and who is refusing to?

It’s hardly surprising that liberal Democrats are desperate to dissociate themselves from Obama’s policies and actions: Obama is not truly a liberal democrat — he would greatly prefer to be a fascist oligarch.

Obama prefers a fascist economic system (privately owned businesses that are tightly controlled and heavily taxed by government), though he has supported both socialism (government ownership of GM, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the college student loan business) and corporatism (special favors to selected health insurers, drug companies, agribusinesses, tire makers, commercial banks, investment firms, etc.). Still, he prefers a fascist system in which economic improvements are claimed to be benefits of government oversight while economic downturns are blamed on greedy CEOs and investors.

Obama prefers a oligarchical or dictatorial government system (hence his support of former Honduras President Manuel Zelaya who rigged an election in his attempt to become President-for-Life). Obama retained all the extra powers granted by the Patriot Act, maintained the prison at Guantanamo Bay, and devised a health care financing law that forces people to buy insurance. Obama doesn’t like opposition and believes he knows what’s best for our nation. What is scary to me is that so many people still support him.

In Obama’s dream world the US would be run like Chicago, with a nationwide political machine in charge and every important decision made by those with the most clout. If that’s what you mean by how he would like to be a fascist oligarch, then I agree.

I think more than anything else they love the deception, they love the lie, as a fetish. The Lie holds power, so they believe. the Lie carries mystical significance. They lie, and they lie, and they lie, and their sycophants slander all others as liars. the Lie is positive proof to the chicago set that you get something from nothing.

No Republican who has been in office more than two terms can be counted on to have the courage to fix the mess started long ago and sealed by the train wreck that is the current administration. We need to flush the system. Are there any Republicans brave enough to tell the truth to the American people and the world? Are there any Republicans strong enough to get us the hell out of the UN and the UN the hell out of the US? Are there any Republicans with the balls to truly confront our enemies both at home and abroad?

Ohio Dems have put their own spin on the “Obama Made Me Do It” platform. They’re running 1) on their record (!?) and 2) in full attack mode. The state has lost more than 400,000 jobs under their “leadership.” Statewide unemployment has been solidly in the double-digits (regionally roughly 12% and as high as nearly 15% in other locales) for more than two years.

The Dems, however, are in such deep yogurt it’s overtaken their receding hairlines, which may explain why they can’t see or won’t admit that for many voters, the 2010 elections will be a referendum on their performance and on Obama-Pelosi-Reid actions. This cuts both ways, as there are plenty of voters who want to ensure the gravy train keeps running (until it runs dry).

Meanwhile, Robert Reich is advocating a top-level tax rate of 55% for the wealthy and encouraging Obama to do EVEN MORE to redistribute wealth.

As PJM blogger Tom Blumer frequently notes, many of the Ohio Republicans running for election are RINOs. Its unclear whether they have the vision, spine and discipline to reduce taxes, streamline government, cancel ObamaCare, promote free markets and staunch the spending.

The Pledge to America is a start … but as we’ve all learned so painfully in the past two years, actions speak much louder than words.

Catherine, I couldn’t help but reflect on Dr. Hanson’s last line as well.

It seems that with all the knowledge of history one could ever muster, and with expertise and superb skills to express ideas that are current, that it be met with hostility or is dismissed, or just not understood.

Is there such a significant portion of the population ill-equipped to follow these ideas, or is the headspace so defiant and angry, that they reject thoughts and ideas that are presented in the most objective and respectful manner possible.

It’s difficult to say, but what does seem to be prevalent is obstinance and a want to fight and smear rather than participate in debate that can achieve something more – even if it’s animated or heated, and even if the conclusion is a draw, but one where a mutual respect continues beyond the end of the exchange.

Dialogue occurs in a very counter productive and disrespectful manner, and one has to wonder if there’s any point at times and if there is any moral standard whatsoever that thoughtful discussion is possible at any level.

Wow, home run, VDH. You hit on all cylinders with this one. I don’t fawn over many writers or essays, but I clearly am a big fan. Today, you crushed it.

1)The tripe in trope that “Republicans” are “misleading” the public…when his own party is ducking, bobbing, weaving, …racing…away from this administration’s policies is a canard with Olympic chutzpah. Obama is out on the stump trying to peddle all the “great” things that have been “passed”. His own party is acting as if it was a very large stone that has been passed.

2) The “perfect storm” that elected this administration was nicely outlined, VDH. But you forgot one major key element. Not only was this administration not properly vetted, it was “anti-vetted”. It was placed in a “bubble” and hermetically sealed off from investigation, inquiry, insight, …the mass media was a cheereading shill, complete with orgasmic leg tingling and deity worship.

3) The meme that we are just “too stupid” to appreciate all the good works and the future of what will befall us, is the universal theme of leftists and the refrain we have heard from their chorus before, during and after the installation of this administration. They don’t like us, they think we are a bunch of ignorant, mouthbreathing rubes and that will not only never change, it is the bedrock of everything they stand for, plot, plan and legislate. They don’t respect us and they don’t treat us with respect. They never will.

4)Will the Republicans change the game? Are they capable of being game changers? Only if and when they decide that they don’t like the game as it is being played. Only if and when they decide that WE are more important, than the safety and security of their “tenured” positions. Only if and when they decide that our wishes, our desires, our intent, our grievances…merit serious consideration. When they will champion our voice. When they will work to speak for us…especially to those who speak about us and against us.

When OUR reputation is more important than theirs. When our money is not treated as theirs to spend, distribute and fritter away on pork, earmarks and “hidden” perks.

When they finally…finally understand…it’s less about them and more about us.

“They don’t like us, they think we are a bunch of ignorant, mouthbreathing rubes and that will not only never change, it is the bedrock of everything they stand for, plot, plan and legislate. They don’t respect us and they don’t treat us with respect. They never will.”

Not false, but the key factor is that they see us as the raw materials of their eternal wealth and power. They hold us in contempt but at the same time intend to suck every ounce of wealth and work out of us that they can. It’s no different than how the medieval aristocracy viewed the peasants that made their wealth and power possible.

At least you have given us the mild satisfaction of seeing what we first began hoping for 23 months ago laid out in a compelling manner. Maybe it would have been even worse if the Constitution were not in place to give the master criminal pause in his efforts to destroy an entire people. But how tragic, and ironic, that 3 or more generations will struggle to recover from the arrogant crimes that were enabled by the innate goodness of an American people who foolishly gave a sly un-vetted siding salesman the keys to the greatest nation that has ever existed.

Do the 270 criminals in Congress and the 60 criminals in the Senate even know that they too have been punked by this charlatan? Do they know he can’t spare a moment’s sympathy for their ruined careers, any more than he can spare a moment for the ruined lives of tens of millions of Americans who happened to be born on the wrong side of his schizophrenic manias?

When this dark nightmare is finally ended in 2013 and the country explodes with joy and prosperity again, surely this 4 year long tragedy of deceit, arrogance and attempted cultural genocide will become the foundation story for the next millennia of human history.

The Prognosis. There is only one mystery left. Will the Republicans screw it up? Or do they have the courage and skill to tell the American people that the mega-deficits and entitlements are our road to serfdom? Or, in contrast, will they return to 2004-6 and gorge the beast while talking of how it could be much worse without them?

I have no idea.

I take this as your no, you won’t be running for President in 2012. I’m very sorry about your decision. Now the Ship of State continues its journey to nowhere, without a Captain to guide her back on course. I also “have no idea” where it goes from here. I’m very sad about the outlook for future generations of Americans. Living under dictates of the United Nations will not be what has been promised when we reached Utopia.

At least now we know how you really feel about Obama, Dr. Hansen!
Just kidding, but really Obama has screwed it up so badly and not just in America, his foreign policies have made America’s allies pariahs, and America’s enemies bosom buddies.
Since Obama cannot be removed from office legally until 2012, then the next House and Senate must perforce stymie all of his grandiose but utterly impractical plans, both spending and foreign.

Liberals hate FOX. BEck tells you the story, then tells you to go check out the facts for yourself. Megan Kelly is also a great report.

When Beck repeats the lefts words back to them, they come unhinged. They say he lies..but won’t point out what he has lied about..because they can’t. Megan Kelly will not leave people alone until they “actually” answer the question, we love it.

Lol FOX has made a habit of telling us everything that Rupert Murdock wants us to believe is the truth (that is, anything that will line his pockets). They are no more “fair and ballanced” than any other media outlet, and in fact blatantly lie every time it suits them… Rush, Beck, and all the rest of the self-loving hypocrites would rather spit in your face before telling you the truth, if the truth contradicted something they proclaimed or meant that one extra dollar would be leaving their pockets and going to someone else.

Don’t be fooled by the their “righteous” indignation. The fact is, they are two sides of the same coin. They and the tea partiers claim to want to go back to the constitution, but only the parts that make them happy; they’re fine with ignoring and scrapping all the rest, especially when it comes to the civil rights of anyone besides themselves. As I said, complete hypocrites all.

I’m fed up with what’s currently happening, yes, but I’m not enough of a sheep to just follow the first “different” wolf that comes along. I can recognize that just because it looks a little different and attacks the current wolf, doesn’t mean that it isn’t also a wolf.

Lol FOX has made a habit of telling us everything that Rupert Murdock wants us to believe is the truth (that is, anything that will line his pockets). They are no more “fair and ballanced” than any other media outlet, and in fact blatantly lie every time it suits them… Rush, Beck, and all the rest of the self-loving hypocrites would rather spit in your face before telling you the truth, if the truth contradicted something they proclaimed or meant that one extra dollar would be leaving their pockets and going to someone else.

Don’t be fooled by the their “righteous” indignation. The fact is, they are two sides of the same coin. They and the tea partiers claim to want to go back to the constitution, but only the parts that make them happy; they’re fine with ignoring and scrapping all the rest, especially when it comes to the civil rights of anyone besides themselves. As I said, complete hypocrites all.

I’m fed up with what’s currently happening, yes, but I’m not enough of a sheep to just follow the first “different” wolf that comes along. I can recognize that just because it looks a little different and attacks the current wolf, doesn’t mean that it isn’t also a wolf.

I don’t think there is anybody in the body politic right now with the brains to avoid screwing it up. Sorry, Boomers, you just aren’t up to the task of “Keeping the Republic”. Too bad for your grandchildren.

Vivo,
In a little over a month, many of your progressive buddies in Congress are going to be looking for work. Thanks to the social and economic policy that you have consistently advocated for at this website, which Congress and your President implemented, you and your fellow travelers are about to suffer one of the largest political rejections delivered by voters in the history of this country. American voters are going to disqualify many of your friends from further decision making on their behalf.

Right now Obama’s and the Democrat’s new target is the Tea Party. Attack the Tea Party members and devirt attention from what’s happening in the economy and in the government. Obama needs a scapegoat, somebody to blame everything on, to say that “Hey, I may be bad, but these Tea Party people are really nuts if they get elected.” Well forget him. He has taken this country with his liberal views and has nearly destroyed it. Heaven only knows how long it will take to repay this debt he and Pelosi and Reid have created. It is shameful what they have done and what they have forced through Congress. And we haven’t even seen the beginning of the true cost of Obamacare, which are going to be staggering.

But, do not fear, America. Tea Party members are made of sterner stuff, and no amount of insults from either Obama or the Democrats is going to stop us from trying to save this country. You can insult us, demean us, and try to marginalize us, but we’ll be here. You can impune our honor, our credibility, or sense of purpose, but we’ll be here. And you can try to silence us, try to get your allies in the mainstream media to denigrate us, and you can even try to ignore us, BUT WE WILL STILL BE HERE.

We in the Tea Party movement know that we have a heavy responsibility to people like Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington. We were given a sacred trust, the idea that we control government and that government does NOT control us. And people who know this trust have an inportant duty in life, and that is to protect these freedoms that have been given to us. These freedoms have been given to us through decades of sacrifice from people who came before us and we would not be able to look our creator in the eye if we tamely submitted and gave these freedoms away.

So here we stand. Like the men at Bunker Hill, we stand here willing to take on whatever may come, but we do it together, unafraid. Take your best shot, Mr. Obama and the far-left. Like our mentors Washington and Adams, we will still be here long after you are dead and buried. Count on it.

These continual misstatements about “the Tea Party” annoy me greatly. There is no political party or organization called the “Tea Party.” There is no political platform, no candidates for office, and no executive board for “the Tea Party.”

There are events called Tea Parties where people opposed to runaway government spending meet and air their views. Attendees at Tea Parties agree that government spending is out-of-control. That is the only topic they agree on. They have different political party preferences, different economic system preferences, different beliefs on how big and how intrusive governments should be, and different beliefs on affirmative action, legal immigration, illegal immigration, etc. To call this a political party is vastly misleading and allows the use of fallacious straw man (straw group?) arguments, which is why the mainstream media and Democrats have been vilifying and demonizing the “Tea Party” for months.

Libertyship46 claims to be a Tea Party member. That isn’t possible. He also ascribes specific characteristics to people who belong to “the Tea Party movement.” He is projecting (applying his views to others) and overgeneralizing. He fails to recognize the diversity of opinions among those who attend tea parties.

I’ve got a prediction: if the Republicans DO act like they did while in power last time around, it will spell the end of the Republican Party. Either they are the party of limited government, or some other party will be.

I stopped giving them money after 2008. If they screw up 2010, I’ll stop voting for them as well.

“… if the Republicans DO act like they did while in power last time around, it will spell the end of the Republican Party. Either they are the party of limited government, or some other party will be.”

You are engaged in both wishful thinking and false limitation of options. The Republican Party has never been the party of small government. It has different priorities than the Democratic Party, and it would tend to have a smaller federal government that Democratic Party politicians would create, but it still supports big government.

There is no reason to believe that the Republican Party will be replaced by a third party that supports limited government. The majority of voters are not ready for a ballot box revolution, because most of them are sucking at the teats of one (or more) government hogs. (They are getting government benefits or are employed by government.) These voters do not want smaller government; they want more government benefits or higher pay for their unproductive government jobs. Some of them may swing Republican is they believe the Democrats are mucking things up badly; none of them will swing Libertarian and slaughter the geese providing them with golden eggs.

Obama is doing a good job. Lot of people don’t understand this because they never read below the headlines, and hear the Fox chatter of lies and misdirection.

Polls are not accurate either. They don’t reach the Silent Majority. Or they respond negatively because they don’t hear the firework speeches of the campaign. They don’t understand the root causes of the current unemployment. They need the constant repetition of simple facts until their drunken brains pay attention.

Ahh, who’d have thunk it. The reason, according to vivo, for the majority rejection of Obama and his policies is that we are…get this..ignorant and drunken half-wits. Heh.

Isn’t this a typical leftist reaction to rejection! The left, self-defined as an Elitist, alone knows What Is Right. We, the people, are ignorant drunks and must accept their Wise Rule. The fact that we are equal, in wisdom and experience to our elected officials; and that their ideas like ours must be open to logic, reason, empirical validation — that is, open to proof..simply never occurs to an Elitist.

And their insistence on our subjugation is one key reason for rejecting both Elitist Rule and Elitist ideology.

Be glad for vivo and his ilk… when they speak so haughtily, clearly identifying their elitist-left agenda, it makes it easier for those of us who understand personal responsibility. We don’t have to go looking under stones anymore – vivo et.al. puts it right out there for all to see. And so many DO see vivo’s speeches. That’s good, because those speeches now ring so amazingly, incredibly EMPTY, and it’s just one more mark (among thousands)in a conservative’s mind being filed to be brought out in November where we can finally put that mark on paper AGAINST every single one of those elite rulers.

Of course, nothing happens overnight. We have such a heavy load to work with, but we must start somewhere. I won’t go into how both sides went bad, etc. I will say my heart has reason to hope because of what I’m now seeing and doing. My prayers are “Please Lord, help us all to do what we need to do and strengthen us to run the race to the end.”.

Vivo,
And I note that your lament issues while you progressives have complete control of the executive and legislative branches of the government with huge majorities. Yet they were unable to govern to the satisfaction of the American people. 19 months ago your President had a 70% approval rating. He is now at about 42%. He got every program he asked for. He had complete control. He was the next FDR, we were told by Time.
Goes to show just how wrong you can be. The sense of overwhelming rejection must be difficult to accept for progressive types like you.

It’s far past the time where explanation, simile, metaphor, or any clarity can shed anymore questioning light on a bunch of psychotic, pathologically lying, professional obfuscators, dancers and spin doctors.

“Yet now we have Democratic lawlessness embedded within racial politics.”

A word to the wise, I never refer to democrat party as “the Democratic party” anymore. There is nothing “democratic” about it or them anymore, not even in the adjectival sense. That phase of the life of the republic was transitory, brief and is now over with, as far as democrat party is concerned, and been jettisoned. In favor of…

The chicago way. Of one party rule. And the “regulatory” way of forbidding individual participation in one’s government ever again.

It was used as the means to get obama into office legitimately, by popular vote, and almost any pretense at seeking popular support anymore, through any kind of rhetorical effort is laughable to them. The loudspeaker should suffice for them, as they see it, from here on out. It’s a one way street from here on out. Over and out.

And weak-kneed Republican leadership would not stand up in the face of Beltway-furrowed-eyebrows and whispering campaigns as those who don’t go along with the darwinian inevitability of “progressive” programs, by the Sally Quinn set, and besides, “progressive” republicans had social programs of their own, sure to win at least a brief reprieve from condemnations by the Sally Quinn set inside the inner rings of the Inner Sanctum Beltway Elites.

Diomocrat Party wants no participation, or debate from members of Republican party, or anyone else for that matter anymore, only collusion and the rubber stamp vote when that pretense, when it does come up again, if it comes up again, is used so they can get in on it too, in a “bi-partisan effort”, and is paraded for the benefit of cameras from the news organisations.

Excellent article. I agree that Obama will not change. He is unable to recognize his own severe limitations. His narcissism will prevail. Also, he will not follow his own rules that he sets out for others. Just watch how his “At some point you’ve made enough money” will not apply to the royalties he gets from his new book where he uses his daughters for monetary gain. Oh, that’s right, the children of a President should be off limits. I guess he doesn’t believe that one either.

We already have third parties; the people do not look to them for leadership. If the Tea Party stumbles (or rather, if the Tea Party backs the wrong people and they stumble), it will go the way of the Greens, the Libertarians, and the rest. The Democrats and the Republicans are not trusted nor liked (which is the only reason we have those other little parties…that nobody pays attention to because they are ineffective).

The Republicans, thanks to the Tea Party, have been given a reprieve of sorts (just as the Democrats were given a while back and have now blown in a most remarkable fashion); if they do not fix things and in a hurry…well, the country is not in a position to cope and absorb such mistakes anymore. There is little trust left in any branch of our government, little trust in the political parties, and the beginnings of no trust in either main political ideology — thanks in large part because the focus has been on mud slinging rather than doing or even reasoned debate.

The mood of the general public is anxious and ugly, and it could break in any direction.
I believe that is the thing we should all be concerned about. I hope I’m just being overly anxious myself.

Not only right, but brilliantly right. Dr. Hanson has explained our present political situation more concisely than any other columnist I have read.

By the way, Dr. Hanson, to flaunt something is to display it ostentatiously, as a rich man might flaunt his wealth. To flout a rule is to ignore it completely, as a Congessman might flout the tax laws. Muhammad Ali never said, “If you got it, flout it.”

I for one would be interested in an article by this author on how to – ahem – “pull the short and curlies” of the Republicans so they back off the “Road to Serfdom” and back onto the Great American Highway.

In my lifetime the liberal have always been dishonest with their agenda. They have never admitted that higher taxes are needed because they want to spend more. It has always been presented in terms of class-warfare retribution.

Major liberal Democrat ideas have never been sold on the basis of logic. It’s always wrapped in preachy white-guilt, pro “working-class”, victim saving nonsense.

Maybe we’ve seen too much of it or maybe the internet has made it easier to see through. Either way, it seems more Americans now see it for the naked interest group pay-offs and power grabs. The Democrats are exposed.

Is Red State going all Kos and Muffington on us?
“Americans wants common sense action. They don’t need 8000 words of inside-the-beltway babble. You may well have one shot, GOP, to get this right. This was not a good start.”

So says Red State. But if you read Red’s criticism, they want 8,000,000 words, not just 8000.

We pledge to restore America to its roots, founded in self-government – of self, of family, and of our local communities. We will disempower all forms of domestic government beyond this scope. Issues outside those addressable in these jurisdictions will be resolved by voluntary associations of the assembled communities. Laws and regulations will be written and enforced locally. Taxes will be collected and spent locally. Funds for activities beyond the community will be allocated by the communities.

We pledge to restore power to the people and their communities, and destroy once and for all the ability for those far removed from us to dictate law, regulation and policy, and be influenced by interests that are not ours, that are not local. In this way there can be no special pleading, no special interests given that if the majority of the communities adopt a practice by their individual choice, by definition it will be of the general interest. We will use freedom to discipline these communities, the freedom of the citizen and their enterprise to vote with their feet as well as the ballot box. Communities will experiment and compete for their citizens’ favor. San Francisco can complete its transformation into the left’s utopia – with death panels for young and old, if not a reefer heaven (and keep and (re)distribute all the income these wonderful policies will create.. or destroy, without recourse to their neighbors’ pocketbooks). The Central Valley will again be able to compete with the world’s best sources of food. The gangrenous areas of Detroit will either recover or, through bankruptcy, be recycled into a better place.

We pledge that in three more Presidential elections you will no longer care much about the federal, and most state government. All but a few of the functions of the central government will be returned to jurisdictions of around 300,000 citizens. Government employment will drop from the 10s of millions to sub-million. Much of D.C. will be returned to their local communities and other areas turned into parks and museums. The central legislature and courts as you know them today will be much less important to you (and of much less stature and cost) than those individuals heading local institutions you invent and support. The same as businesses decentralized in the 70s and 80s you will see a new architecture for governance based on increasingly inexpensive (self-service) 21st century automation and networks that does not rely on a King, or the rule of a majority far distant and removed from your interests. Call it the Mass-Customization of Governance and the end of the Regulatory/Administrative State. And just like business experienced decades ago, we’ll see that not only can faster and smaller governance can be delivered at a 10th of today’s costs, but in its distributed nature it will be able to survive all those threats that a centralized hierarchy of even well intentioned and able people cannot.

And we need not have any constitutional changes, simply a Congress that says “on these days over the next twelve years we will stop doing X, Y, and Z, and disestablish Agencies A, B, and C and by the end of the period we will be doing nothing related to domestic affairs that isn’t at the request of, and in the service of these near-sovereign communities). The internet and inexpensive automation has eliminated any need for top-down governance (and all the rent-seeking and corruption these centralized hierarchies naturally attract)”

I understand those who wish the promise was shorter, but I appreciate specifics. The problem with generalities is that people can claim that they have fulfilled their promises if there are no specifics – it is hard to hold people accountable for generalities. Obama even claims to be against deficits. How do you measure “hope” or “change”?

The best analogy I can think of is when I have gone on a diet in the past. I could make all sorts of goals about how many pounds I wanted to lose and then embark on a period of misery, denying myself certain foods but never achieving my goals. Success only came to me when I said “I will only allow myself x carbs” or “x calories” per day, not when I said “I will eat smaller portions” or “I will eat healthier foods”.

Therefore I guess I like having a list of things about which I can go back later and say “HEY! You didn’t do what you said you would do! You’re fired!” It’s not a complete or perfect list, but I think a list of detailed specifics is a good thing. (We just can’t let them stop there.)

In the The Problem. Obama succeeded in getting elected … list what’s missing is the role the media played in covering for Obama, keeping the people who relied on it for facts, in the dark as to his background.

If we cannot see that we are blessed with a Mandela-like laureate, then let us lose our souls.
Well, if the people cannot see the integrity and sincerity that Mandela displayed as opposed to Obama’s behaviour then they deserve to lose their souls.

The near-term prognosis is stalemate. At best, Congress will stop digging the hole deeper. Any significant reversal will have to await the 2012 election cycle, and even then it will take a few years to right the ship. Focus on the positive, work harder and smarter, and expect several more tough years to follow.

I never understood it when Clinton complained about gridlock. When Congress is stalemated we are safer from their meddling.

The main thing we need to do is keep up the pressure so they don’t have a chance to cool the movement through two years of propaganda from the government-media-complex. All hail the alternative media! (Would it be appropriate to refer to alternative media as “the fifth estate”?)

I would note that this Congress we are electing in 2010 will have alot of new blood. It will not be populated with old GOP establishmnet candidates so I would rate the chances of it falling into the old ways as very low.

It’s a start. Reading these replies has caused me to think. I think it is true that more than half of our battle to reclaim America is in the primaries. This is where both republicans and democrats can work. Dems have to get rid of the outright communists from their party, and us republicans have to cleanse the party from these stupid Rinos who should be in the Democratic party. Then we can have real, honest debates. These Alinsky leftists are so dishonest that political debate is almost impossible. They *never* say what they really want to do, and their cronies in the media and school systems brainwash the American populace to unquestioning apathy. Time to clean house, and quickly!

Above all, we need to get back to voting for character – out with the liars, narcissists and crooks! The concept that character is not important when choosing leaders is, IMHO, the most detrimental fallout of the Clinton presidency.

You know not of what you speak. (And you seem to be projecting the things you care about!)

Democrats are concerned about many, many things. Here are but a few:
1) Government rife with laws and regulations designed to favor the super-rich and corporations at the expense of the middle class and to the detriment of the environment.
2) The take-over of the military by Christian Fundamentalists.
3) Takeover of the media by corporate propagandists.

Nate, If you are right about these three things that the democrats are concerned about, then we need to worry about their sanity before we need to even worry about their philosophy. Yikes!

1: “rife with laws” agree – way too many. ‘favor big corps over middle class’. Yeah, true in many cases. BUT most of those laws were passed by dems, so your argument is weak.

2: oh, please….

3: So you prefer government propogandists, then? A marketplace of ideas where the people get to chose what they want is a real worry for the democrats? Here’s the truth: those corporations buy radio stations for one reason – to make money. There are hundreds of talk shows out there – strangely enough the commercially successful ones are largely conservative and lib shows go bankrupt or are supported by donations in many cases because: *most people don’t want to listen to them*. So the democrat solution is to (according to FCC ‘diversity czar’) fine private owners out of existence and give stations to political cronies who agree with the state to avoid stopping the revolution here, as almost happened to that ‘wonderful democratic revolution’ in Venezuela?? Yeah, right. Good luck with that. I think that *I* will worry more about government propaganda, thanks.

(Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my church for our latest conspiracy meeting on how to take over the U.S. military. )

Wherever you look in Woodward’s book you can see how Woodward is trying to give veneer of competence to an otherwise seriously, chonically challenged White House -

And this situation has been created by Obama’s acknowledged incompetence and ineptitude, and by his golden touch in choosing advisors -

And here is Obama’s own, involunary confession about this curious “gift” he has – when in Britain, in 2008, Cameron asked him during a conversation “how do you think that you’ll do, since you don’t know that much”
And a pissed off Obama answered: “I’ll surround myself with people who know 10 times better than me the issues, and this is how I’ll handle thing” -

And now, two years later, he doesn’t know a iota more – as far as those fine figures who know 10 times better than him, alas… fortunately we still have the super-competent Valerie Jarret around to keep us out of trouble -

“Wherever you look in Woodward’s book you can see how Woodward is trying to give veneer of competence to an otherwise seriously, chonically challenged White House…”

I guess I’m out of touch. I thought Woodward’s book was not yet available for sale and that the only things we know about it are from the propaganda rags Wapo and NYT, who were sent advance copies by the publisher, who in turn is probably a stone NY librul.

47% of households in the USA pay no federal income taxes. Voters in these households feel no pain when they elect politicians who expand the size of government, increase borrowing and taxes, and send big chunks of pork back home. Also, there are many voters who receive more in government benefits than they pay in taxes. They will vote for candidates who increase their benefits while shifting the extra tax burden onto “the rich.”

Federal, state, and local governments employ 15% of all workers in the USA. Those workers want bigger governments because they will be more likely to get promoted.

The bottom line is that a majority of voters will do better economically if we have more government and bigger entitlements. They are not likely to vote for Libertarian or small-government Republican candidates.

Doc, this is a really serious problem that the new Congress should take on ASAP. Everybody in the country with income from any source should pay some taxes, even if only a small amount. Each citizen MUST have some skin in the government spending game.

Actually it is 26% accordingly the gov. website. So much worse than you thought. Put that 26% with the people Supported by government (welfare, unemployment, etc) and you might get a lot closer to the actual number.

Given that the DADT law was attached to a Defence Appropriation Bill when it was passed, I hardly see that a law repealing it as part of a Defence Appropriation Bill is a “Hijack”.

The Immigration stuff… not so much. If it were confined to granting citzenship to those who had served a term in the military, well and good. Anything else, no, that doesn’t belong. OK, it’s no worse than has been done by both parties in the past, but it’s still wrong.

It was also a pretty obvious ploy by Reid to make sure the bill had no chance of cloture, so the Incumbents on both sides could use it as an issue. The “no amendments” decision made that 100% certain. Unfortunately for him, those on the Left saw through that tactic immediately, and so are deserting in droves. The November massacre is going to be worse than their worst nightmares.

Republicans have been known to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory before, but I think the new majority within the party (tea party activists and sympathizers) will demand principles instead of expediency or ‘more of the same’

On the other hand, we may be on the cusp of a new wave in politics similar to the 1850s. No one expected the Whigs to fade and disappear, but they lost their supporters by not recognizing the new sunami wave of political thought (anti-slavery) approaching.

As a nation, I think we actually need Obama and his buddies. For quite a long time now, many Americans have been under the illusion that socialism and government paternalism are great ways to run an economy and nation. Now that we have all of these wonderful communication tools (esp. the Internet) that we didn’t have in the days of LBJ and Carter, we can finally see once and for all, and up close, that socialism and paternalism are disastrous policies, and that the politicians who support those policies are generally a bunch of corrupt jerks. I hope that the illusion is now over and people will actually pay attention to what they have given themselves.

One thing that always puzzled me during the 08 campaign was all the sturm and drang about Palin’s inexperience and unpreparedness to be vice president, when it was miserably obvious to anybody who wanted to pay attention that ONE person who was running for the HEAD position was far less experienced and prepared for the job he wanted. Yet because the MSM was drunk on Obama’s charismatic crap and teleprompted tripe, they totally ignored that fact, instead presenting him as a harbinger of hope. Now, however, it appears his proverbial jig is up, and the scales have begun to fall from blinded eyes. Now perhaps that ray of light will come down upon you, the rise of the oceans will begin to slow, and you will realize Obama’s messianic imaginings were only that…the ravings of a mad man.

When the republicans take control after the November elections, I hope they won’t allow their egos and desire for power to control them the way it has dominated everything the dems have done. While I like Boehner, I would love to see him step aside and put control in the hand of one of the “not-so-establishment” congressmen…or women. I believe it is imperative that they do this in order to prove to the American people from the beginning that they will not do business as usual. The “Promise to America” was a good start, but everything they do must be “different”….it must not be as it has ever been before. If they can succeed in returning government back to the people, then Obama and everything he and his minions have done soon will be UNdone, and will recede from the American memory. His presidency will be viewed as a great, unsuccessful experiment that ought never be repeated. And not only should current legislators be saying “Obama made us do it,” but they should be super gluing him to Reid and Pelosi, for without them and their strongarm tactics, none of the worst legislation (Obamacare, TARP, etc.) could have passed.

I gotta say I am 58 yrs old and have never despised a bunch of politicians like I despise the 111th Congress, and it just gets worse every day. Boys and girls (“men and women” do not fit) I’ve FLUSHED better things than you. November can’t come fast enough.

Complaining about what is or is not in the pledge or any list of promises is pointless. This is because. other than as an indication of what the politicians actually are willing to admit they have heard from us, the content of the list is pointless.

The environment of DC, or of any capital of a large state, is optimized to strip a politician away from the views of their electorate and toward rewarding those that derive sustenance from government spending.

The ONLY way to counter this is an active and engaged electorate and a commitment to primary any incumbent who forgets why they are there. Term limits, while I agree with them, are a bandaid for an electorate who does not want to have to spend the time to keep their elected officials in line.

We can all bemoan the fact that a feckless or corrupt media, or partisan public schools, or lobbyists from either side, or (pick something) got us here. The simple truth is that the vast majority of us had more important things to do, when in fact we did not. I know that making a living and raising a family and dealing with life is a hard road. I realize that in a perfect world we would not have to worry about the government getting out of control. The world is imperfect.

While we are busy, can we honestly say that any of us did not have on average four or five hours a month to pay attention to what’s going on? The activists among us were more than happy to point us at their cause du jour. It’s not that hard to read or ask a friend or whatever. This was true since 1900. Now the net makes it trivial. As an electorate we have not done proper due diligence in most cases since before Wilson. There are exceptions where a clear case got stopped (McGovern comes to mind). But generally we used our free time in more enjoyable pursuits. We as a nation got here over decades, it will take us at least 10-20 years to get back and probably a lot longer.

Ask yourselves why discussions of religion and politics are banned from polite discussion. Politics used to be a central topic of conversation in all venues. It was a topic to which people paid attention. Over time it became “too devisive”. Besides we were always told the left was right about this. The rest of us were just greedy racist jerks. All corruption was political and since politics were not to be discussed…

Now to get back to sanity will take time, money, a willingness to get our hands dirty. To talk about difficult subjects. To prioritize. To stand up. To be involved. To learn how a political party functions. To become a precinct committeeman. To find like minded neighbors. To corral congressmen and hold their feet to the fire. To teach our children that politics is very important and that politicians are to be rewarded when they do their proper jobs, smacked down and prevented from usurping the powers of their office, and never never to be “trusted”.

Your post is excellent uncleFred, with many good points, but your view that spending 4 or 5 hours per week in political discourse and calling congress to express concern is naive. Good luck with that.

The congressional criminals have built firewalls around themselves that make it necessary to approach anarchy and revolution to get a message through. Persuading neighbors is the equivalent of firing spitwads from the cheap seats.

The Tea Parties are having some success not because they pick up their trash but because they are firing corruptocrats. We certainly hope the success is major. But the level of political corruption is so deep (because the potential wealth and power is so vast) that unless the entire system is dramatically altered, the same cesspool we are in today will re-occur as soon as the bowel draining fear of losing their lifetime sinecures abates.

Nothing short of the ability to remove them during their terms will stop them from rising up again to seize our properties, lives and futures. And even that may not be enough. It may take another 1776.

Please forgive my lack of clarity. The four or five hours a month was to stay connected to what was going on so that you could know whether or not to dump your elected official in the primary. We are far beyond that now. At this point we have to go to our reps public meetings. We have to make them understand that they are under a microscope and that if they stray from the purpose we sent them to accomplish, we will dump them.

I’m sorry that I came across that way. I suspect that I am one of the few people here who actually successfully fired my congressman. It was 1994 and he had crossed the line and a handful of us used that elections wave to destabilize him and dump him. The problem was that in 1996 the electorate had gone back to sleep, and our ability to follow up was severely limited. Although we did stop his bid for Senate.

I have no illusions. Either we stay active or we lose. There is nothing like being able to ask your rep in his/her public meeting the reason that they made a particular vote against the interests of their constituents. You’d be surprised how quickly that particular confrontation wakes up the congress person and their aids as to what people are watching.

You are correct about their firewall. However, I offer you the observation that this year a lot of the firewalls have been burned through. Our job is to be sure that they stay down and we burn through the rest. Do you think than any politician wants the kind of public meetings that we see on you tube from last year.

Keeping them honest, requires that we demonstrate that the old game is gone. This won’t be easy and they’ll try to compromise the process. IF we as a nation cannot stay engaged then we are doomed.

We are an interesting and unique country. People tell me that we’ve lost the drive to be in charge of our lives. That we’ve been diluted by handouts and an entitlement education and an influx of people looking for a handout. God knows we have many examples of each of those cases. Then I think about a man I know who came here on a boat for a chance for a better life and built it with his own hands. I think about a man who crossed a continent, spent four more years to came here legally, and built a life. a woman from Cuba whose family put her on little more than a raft, who works every day to care for her son while she studies computers to get a better job, asking for nothing from anyone.

For every one who wants to come here for a handout, there are a dozen who will crawl across rocks strewn with glass to earn a shot at what most of us were born to. The latter group is a lot more focused on reaching their goal. All we have to do it protect that ideal.

I don’t think I said this would be easy. I don’t think I said that we can do a few simple, however difficult, things and all would be well. If I said or implied that I was profoundly wrong. However, at least for now, we still can vote the clowns out. However difficult it may be, we can still mobilize our state legislatures to amend the constitution. Of course if all else fails, and I do mean all else, we have the final resort of an oppressed people. It’s our job to prevent that necessity.

While being able to remove someone from office during their term seems a good idea now, given what has been pulled, if you consider the consequences when the shoe is on the other foot, it may not be such a good idea. If we can learn from our mistakes, and avoid career politicians, I think you’ll find that even a Senator will not feel comfortable ignoring his or her constituents when fellow Senators get blown out of office in their primary. We have to drain the swamp. Establish outside oversight of funding and gifts, and favors, We have a lot to fix. But I’m not sure that recall, other than for criminal behavior is required.

Your pessimism is well placed. God knows that I sometimes fear we have lost the flame. I choose not to accept that until it’s proven.. Until the last proud remnants, of the greatest country, built by the most adventurous people every to select themselves for the challenge of independence, fold their tents and bow down before tyrants. Until then I will fight. With words, and money, and time, the law, such as it is, and with a stubborn commitment to the sanctity of the individual.

What will you do? Sit and say it’s hard? It is. Point out mistakes in my reasoning? Great make a better plan I’ll help you. Give up? Sorry I was born here. Raised here. I love this country’s ideals more than life itself. I can acknowledge that I became inattentive. I woefully admit that I failed to stay focused. I wish that I had done better in the past. None of that matters. The task is on us now. I will not put it down. I don’t expect to live to see it completed, but I’ll be damned before I give up.

We have no major differences uncleFred, but I want to add to my point about the ability to recall congressional criminals (and the president).

1. People should consider carefully the risk that has been revealed since Nov 2008. In less than 2 years, the country has been brought to the brink of destruction. Indeed, we might well be BEYOND the brink. To debate the danger of recall being turned against us, imho, is like Germany debating the risk of the industrial might of the US in January 1945. I’m foursquare behind leaving well enough alone, but I also maintain that whereas two years was an eternity in 1776; in 2010, the equivalent timeframe is more like 2 months. That lesson should be second only to the lesson of electing people with histories they invented themselves.

2. Recall should not be easy to do. My idea is to require 40% of the participants in a prior election to sign petitions of recall. But there may be better ways. I just want the threat.

3. The ability needs to be a Constitutional amendment.

That amendment, which I recognize is a long long shot, would be the greatest safeguard for freedom in the future. Imagine if we had the ability in March 2008. The Stupid Stimulus would have been the last act of this criminal administration. They would have spent the rest of the two years cowering in their mansions.

I also think that November will mean nothing without the correct follow-up. Stalling Obama’s agenda is nice, but ultimately meaningless unless it is halted, reversed and discredited forever. That will ultimately require executive power but a lot can be done in the meantime…

Have a simple, constructive agenda that addresses real problems in an immediate common-sense kind of way. Make Obama look bad if he dares to use his veto pen.

Speak proudly on the international scene. Make the world understand that the majority reject (and are in the early stages of obliterating) socialism in America.

Begin quietly investigating the Obamaroids, follow the money trails. They are already trying to shape the battlefield by using the old KGB trick of accusing their opponents of what they themselves are doing. Don’t be distracted, just ignore it. When we’re ready we can lay our cases down side by side and let the people decide who is the worst offender.

Give them nothing. Take from them everything.

Both Republicans and Tea Partiers must work hard at focusing on their common interests. Dems will try furiously to divide us and trigger infighting, and will have two years to do it in. Keep the prize in sight and focus on it relentlessly. Ignore all side issues, we are entering no-man’s land and must remain alert. The danger is great.

I think UncleFred hit the nail on the head re kids. Teach them early that they live in a world where they will be bombarded by efforts to influence their behavior. This can be benign, neutral or destructive. The basic technique is to use symbols to make you feel like there is something lacking in your life… and then offer the solution (of course there is a price.) It drives our consumer culture and that has many benefits. But it is dangerous when these techniques are applied to politics. Teach kids that though they may not be interested in politics, politics is definitely interested in them. Smart people are working hard every day to figure out ways to strip them of their freedom and political power.

Show kids through examples and experience how these techniques work. Teach them to weigh both sides, and to recognize peoples’ agendas by observing how their deeds diverge from their words. Some agendas are positive, others are destructive. Explain how we balance individual rights and the social consensus; how capitalism expands and spreads wealth while socialism restricts and siphons it into the hands of the few… Do this and we will have done much to safeguard freedom, at least for another generation (its an eternal battle); for it will help instill a politically involved mindset. Of course that will require taking on a partisan academic community. I think David Horowitz’ ‘Academic Bill of Rights’ might be a good place to start.

Perhaps, after all the words of analysis about all things stemming from the Obama phenomenon, a few key basic components warrant outstanding and continuous awareness.

First, Obama and his ilk, most definitely including his political opponents like John Boehner, are essentially just apparently different variations of Narcissus. I’m reminded of a classic sophomore-in-college bull session splitting question—would you rather be the one who loves your mate or be the one who is loved?

Well, combine THIS apparent dilemma with the ending VDH conclusion, the admission that he doesn’t know how it all will urn out—there is NO danger of ever knowing the future, because: by definition, the future = the unknown!

However, in this veil of Narcissistic reality peopled by humans who have the life or death power in 2010, one fact is certain.

Cui bono? “What’s in it for me?” ever provides the true prism through which to focus ALL words and actions by anybody, in particular those high and mighty people who populate positions of power over their low and weak brethren.

Also, never forget that it’s the PERCEPTION, stupid! That is, each of us Narcissistic characters always, instant by instant, spend our Being and Time choosing our NEXT move, and then doing it to the best of our ability. And, or BUT, this is absolutely dependent on our lifetime’s experience, which furnishes our present basis core of values.

So, Narcissistic perception is expressed and expressive AS us.

Witness that woman who “exhausted” Obama, much to his embarrassed surprise. See—it was all about: HER!

Is facile minded Obama more interested in being loved, or loving?

Isn’t it obvious?

His whole day-by-day record as president reeks of the blatantly Narcissistic desire to BE loved! Simultaneously, the other side of this exudes contempt for those he SHOULD love—the American people he legally represents and is supposed to be working for.

Therefore, probably the best we can hope for in this world of Narcissus is that enough people awaken and throw up real champions of the people, who utterly realize that to be an effective and LOVED leader, paradoxically they, themselves, must be wise enough to know that they are NOTHING—that is, sacrifice is the called for order of today!

Lately, I have seen and heard some rising selfless stars, who proudly and brightly proclaim that this is their truth—it’s the CAUSE of freedom for American individuals, not the candidate that matters.

Lastly, transcend the only conventional Fourth of July expressions of patriotism, and REALLY take into account the millions of dead and buried ancestors, who fought and died protecting America. The draft dodgers, and the war survivors, must, of course, be part of the pool of leaders when the fighting and dying is over, but what about those who were unlucky to be killed?

For example, we got to “endure” a JFK, instead of his brother, Joseph, and who’s to say that wasn’t the second best outcome?

The naïve me “hopes” for the best “change” in the immediate future, so that the largest majority of voters will embrace the selfless statesman running, and we will be able to stop the bleeding caused by the derelict dudes like Obama, Clinton, and even the Bush’s.

The wisest humans, usually after a period of time maximizing their Narcissistic nature, wake up and understand that serving OTHERS is the most ecstatic and blessed way to live. Why?

Because spending one’s precious Being and Time all-concerned with self is like pinching the body, or tightly clenching the fist—such contraction cuts off the flow of blood, and other needed physical and psychic “fluids.

And, attending to others removes this constriction, which is the true way to love: others, and self!

Obama will “for the next thirty years parrot a Carter on 60 Minutes assuring us how awful were his successors, how brilliant his unappreciated record was, and how illiberal and dense we remain — as he jets from Indonesia to Paris on missions of world peace from a corporate and Middle East funded Obama Peace Center.”

Flying high, the consummate con artist in all history, his personal papers sealed.

A con can con anyone he can con, but a con can’t con a con, can he? Yes, he can, as long as the con cons his cons as a con behind bars himself, because the country as a whole won’t suffer, but he had better watch out, because if he gets caught there, he’s the one in big trouble.

So I suggest we open up all his sealed papers for a look-see, and clip his wings.

The funny thing is that Obama could point to Congress and say “They screwed up my plan to save the economy and fix health care” and be at least half right.

Having worked in DC with my naked eyes I could see from Sara Palin’s house that the “Stimulus Bill” was nothing but a classic case of everyone’s old dogs and cats they normally could not get funded all wrapped up with a new label. Only instead of tucking in a Christopher Columbus Museum in a NASA appropriation or a Statue of Liberty Museum in a DoD funding bill (two true cases) they just took all the unjustifiable junk and made a bill out of it.

The same is true for Obamacare. Obama could reasonably point to that 2000 page monstrosity and say “Where did you get all this crap? This isn’t what I wanted!”

But the reality is, he drifted along, disengaged and disinterested, and let it all happen with his blessings and encouragement.

In support of VDH. Psychiatrists are not any better than anyone else at predicting suicide. And historians are not better than anyone else at predicting the future.
Your humility is appreciated. However one can usually be correct in assuming that Republicans will eventually self destruct (especially if they are given a giant advantage at the outset), just as drinking fron the far side of the cup will get your shirt wet. Dumbocrats and Republidunces. Can we be saved by the Tea Party before it becomes organized into oblivion ?

Any statement, pledge, promise or pact by the Republicans that falls even an inch short of cutting the Federal Government down by 50% – both in terms of budget and payroll – is unacceptable, and must be utterly rejected.
With this in mind, the latest Pledge from the Republican party is worthless.
There is only one hope:
1. Both parties – Republicans and Democrats – need to be utterly destroyed. Their annihilation must be so complete that any politician (whatever his or her party may be) in the future who accuses his opponent of being a Democrat or Republican is considered to be using the absolutely worst pejorative imaginable.
2. A constitutional convention must be convened. The goals of this convention must be, at a minimum, to permanently curtail the size and reach of the federal government; to make it impossible for the federal government to incur a deficit without the explicit approval by direct vote of 75% of the citizenry; and to prevent future abuses such as the ridiculous extension of the Interstate Commerce clause that allow the federal government to extend its reach into every facet of American life.
Yes, I know. I’m dreaming.

Thank you, Doctor Hanson, for so succinctly summarizing my thoughts. This hyphenated immigrant-American (I’m an AMERICAN-American) is more than ever proud to have become your fellow, sovereign, American.

Keep up your Good Works.

As for whether, post November 2, those wearing the “republicans’” costumes will screw it up?

Here’s a slightly edited version of some thoughts I posted a few days ago on another site:

QUOTE:

…. The
“Democratic” (Court) Party has a lot to say now, because it holds most political offices, and controls most media organizations. (We, The People) will (but whisper our first warning) on November 2 ….

…. after which the “republican” (Country) Party will behave as if it’s comprised of career politicians and the court party will have even more to say than it says now, because it holds every key bureaucracy, every court, every kindergarten, every school, every college, every university, every union, every fiat court and, essentially and effectively, every media organization and controls the content and the language of every discussion. And has absolute control over every Acorn – by any other name – every mobbed up union gang, every Wall Street “institution,” is closely allied with America’s every bloody enemy, international and domestic — and has a standing army comprised of the more than thirty-five-million increasingly-hostilely-colonizing criminal aliens whose invasion it has treacherously and treasonously incited, encouraged and facilitated and/or has otherwise Trojan Horsed into place these past seven or eight decades — for just such a time as this.

We must therefore pray and trust that We, The People, having, these past few months and on November 2, but whispered our first warning, stand up the both the country party and the court party when, on November 3, their career politicians morph back into that state which, as just one example of what we’re up against, just witnessed that awful bloody creep-ette from Alaska being given back her committee chairmanship by a party that, stated road-to-Hell intentions notwithstanding, has long been indistinguishable in the execution from the court party.

As if We are Hercules, We, The People, will either remain engaged in the Second American War of Independence until DC’s Augean stables are swept of all their career besquatters and bemanurers — of whatever party and/or persuasion — or we will have forever lost both our beloved fraternal republic and the very Judeo-Christian/Western/Human Civilization our creativity, industry, blood and treasure have these past 200-odd years both vanguarded and guarded!

And, finally and at the risk of having rabbited-on a bit, let me conclude by reminding us all that when that well-remembered anglo-American, Winston Leonard Spencer Jerome-Churchill delivered his WW-II “blood and sweat and tears” inspiration he concluded by saying to the effect that when this is over, it will not be enough that we say “we did our best.” For we will have to have done whatever was necessary to succeed.

May Almighty God continue to guide our actions and our activities and to continue to heap His blessings upon our nation.

the best is the leader know the executive effective and know the people skill,knowledge and have science experience,it’s the people full skill work,to much analytical and perception we can’t see the democrate people stand by the Conservative idea

Thank you Dr. Hanson. My heart aches for my Country and longs for proper representation for all. But most of all I yearn to hear the truth. I just read it.
I’ve sent this article to my esteemed Senator Sessions, hopefully (GOD SPEED SENATOR) he has already read it.

If we are fortunate enough to achieve the desired goal of significantly shrinking (federal) government… like big time… like so that the fed is less important… less intersting (less power)… like so that much more is local… like so that congress is more of a maintenance body than a crowd attraction (of what fear will be performed next)… and there are more like 50 sovereign narratives rather than one omnipresent… Then,

– What will cable news do?

Would the 24-hour news-cycle, with its centrality, not, with its pockets and influence… ,like this idea so much.

corollary: is there an historical correllation between the expanse of mass media and big governments? which led? does (inter)national media lead to (inter)national governing? do they feed off each other?

just throwin it out there. I mean, I personally have not watched local news in a decade or so but I’m in CA and so don’t extrapolate some things.

Which Republicans will we get? The drunken sailor spending, government expanding, nation building Republicans or the recent converts to fiscal responsibility and Constitutional adherence?
Obama’s Keynesian worshiping socialism is as finished as he is politically, but will the R’s newly found religion last? Independents are the force behind this wave of rejection of Obamaism, make up a lot of the Tea Party, and are more libertarian than social conservative. If the Republicans win and gain control they will have to be honest with the American people and tell them that we are years, decades perhaps, from righting our financial ship. We cannot undo 40 years of financial mismanagement overnight. It will require sacrifice: spending cuts for even the most cherished bipartisan government goodies, elimination of public service unions, a top to bottom review of the Defense budget, and possibly increased taxes , with firm sunsets.
We’ll know if Republicans are truly serious when we hear the idea of a phased in Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution being pursued. Otherwise it will be politics as usual: red colored Keynesians instead of blue.

Dr. Hanson has it correct re:Clinton’s casual apology. However, I’d love to hear his thoughts on Clinton in context to Obama’s meltdown. I’m convinced that Clinton has known all along what he was doing- subverting and destroying Obama and other Democrats that betrayed them during Hillary’s campaign. Depriving the Clinton’s again the power they wanted is driving Bill to “casually” mention how Obama “could” save his presidency on national tv. He fired up the Democrats to go down a path he had personal knowledge was a suicide pact with the health care bill. He understands economics much better than Obama and therefore loves it when Hillary just happens to mention the national debt as being unstable for national security. Whether Clinton is for higher taxes, he knows it’s the uncertainty that’s really killing the economy, so he’s all for the Democrats not even deciding about taxes in a few months! See what’s happening to the most ardent Clinton opponents from Hillary’s campaign. It sure seems like the public has forgotten the MO of the Bubba- sure, act stupid, being all “shucks I don’t remember” or “shucks I was wrong” all the while the enemy is destroyed. Remember what he did to Gingrich when he was president, see what he’s doing to Obama now. Slick Willy knows how to destroy under the radar.

Obama’s dustbowl economy is driving people out of the plains toward the milk and honey that awaits them in a place where government plays less of a role in their lives- conservatism.

They’ll avoid places like the Bush-o-nomics Badlands this time around as it too spoiled the landscape. Most now see that no amount of Dancing with Deficits- or any other Obama publically funded rain dance- will curb the drought caused by leftist idealism; regulation, redistribution, and payoffs to ‘friendlies’.

A resilient group, Americans won’t just sit around an take it. Not from locusts, wild rabbits, or lying politicians with styrofoam pillars. That should give people hope about where all of this is headed. “Wagons Ho!, Clunkers Ho!, and don’t forget to bring a copy of the tax code in case it gets cold at night or we run low on toiletries.”

NewsFlash! Liberalism and it’s ugly cousin, fascism are no longer ‘cool’. Got ObamaCare being shoved down your throat? How about a carbon tax kicked up your tailpipe? These are both liberal configurations that are, by current assessments, no longer….cool.

Cool, bitchen, far out, call it what you will but when something isn’t, it’s in trouble and that’s where Obama’s agenda is right now- in trouble. I never would have expected such a cool character as Obama pushing such an un-cool program. The smile, the voice, the telepromted speeches- cool, right? Wrong.

America knows ‘cool’, and this President ain’t. Thank you, America. Thank you for keeping it cool, and may we always judge others, when other methods will not suffice, by this standard of lasting resort. MSM cool? Don’t make me laugh, my ribs hurt from working all day.

This election and the next 2 years will determine the future of the Republican Party, There is no future for the Democrat Party.

The RINO Republicans will get run over in the next 2 years and the Conservative Republicans will need to take charge and show conservative courage.

The Voters appear to be close to understanding that the Professional Politician and the intrenched Political Class will need to be curtailed and eliminated, if America is to survive as a Republic and free from government.

“There is only one mystery left. Will the Republicans screw it up?” If their tepid statement of principles last week was any indication, yes, the GOP will screw it up. Perhaps not as fast or as thoroughly as the Democrats would have, but on the present course, the Republicans will certainly land us in the same place the Democrats would have. That is, at the bottom of a very long drop over the cliff of fiscal ruin. To return to your medical analogy, Dr. Hanson, the plan of treatment the GOP is proposing does not go nearly far-enough to save the patient, let alone restore him to full health. If the GOP regains control of both houses of Congress during the midterms, they’d better step up and be prepared to lead and govern like adults, or they’ll find they’ve been left holding the bag after the Democrats have skipped town, and they will be blamed for the damage done by the left. And if the GOP fail to take the kind of drastic action needed to correct Obama’s mistakes and the willful abuses he has heaped upon us, then they will deserve every bit of the invective hurled their way.